waterbed
Mentor
I don't take this as bad stereotyping and i think there is some truth in it.
This article is a about white south african soccer players and were are they?
By Yusuf Moolla
While great pressure is put on rugby and cricket bosses to have more black people in their teams, professional soccer teams and academies in South Africa are struggling to hold on to or recruit young white players.
Since the Bafana Bafana glory days of the 1990s when white players such as Neil Tovey (who captained the team in 1996 when South Africa won the African Cup of Nations), Mark Fish (former Bafana Bafana defender) and Eric Tinkler (former Bafana Bafana midfielder) were among the core group which formed the heart and soul of the national team, South Africa has failed to produce similarly skilled white players at the highest levels.
What has happened to our white soccer stars and why are the professional bodies not attracting more white talent?
'We are all South Africans'
Mike Makaab, managing director of Prosport International's soccer division, has been involved with soccer for more than 30 years, as a player, coach and manager, and was South Africa's first licensed Fifa agent.
Makaab said there were several issues hampering the progress of potential white soccer stars, but chief among these was the sports systems in the traditionally white schools.
"There is a perception that there is no future in soccer and the majority of parents encourage their sons to pursue careers in cricket and rugby despite having talent in soccer."
While there were exceptions, such as Durban High School, which was making enormous strides in promoting soccer, generally not enough was being done to get rid of this perception, said Makaab.
He believed that there was a lot of soccer talent among young white males.
'It should not be about colour'
"Orlando Pirates has Michael Morton, for example, a fantastic young player who has come up through the development academy.
"Danny Guselli of Durban is another example of a white player making it in the sport, so there is no shortage of talent in the country."
Makaab, however, said he hated talking about colour in the sport.
"We are all South Africans. If our entire national side consists of black players, they are the best that the country has produced. It should not be about colour."
But he added that having white players in the national team made a difference.
"In 1996, when Bafana Bafana won the African Cup of Nations, the country was ranked 16th in the world. We had a fantastic blend of players. There was the strength of the white players and the flair of the black players."
Now, he said, not enough was being done to nurture talent among white players.
Johnny Brookes, Uefa and FA coach, who works for the Global Soccer Star academy and is also a coach for Durban's Stella Club, has helped many players to find opportunities in world soccer.
Born in Sheffield, UK, Brookes, who placed Lucas Radebe and Phil Masinga at Leeds United with his good friend Howard Wilkinson in the 90s, had also played for Sheffield United.
Brookes agreed with Makaab, saying that talent at schools was being diverted to other sporting codes.
"Many young players, as well as their parents, feel that they would not be welcomed into the sport."
Brookes also said the sport was too racially driven, with the focus on nurturing black talent only.
"Times were different during the 1990s. All cultures and races were drawn into the sport and there was no politics disrupting the flow of talent."
Brookes said another problem was that while there was talent among young white players, there were hardly any coaches in South Africa to focus on nurturing the talent.
"There are very few Uefa licensed coaches in South Africa. The country needs to bring up coaches from scratch and send them overseas for training. Our way of thinking in terms of coaching is isolated from the mainstream European way, and we need to work on bridging that gap."
Brookes said race should not be an issue at all and players should be professionally coached from the age of six.
"If the best coaching is not offered, you end up with a potentially talented player who is wasted," he said.
Steven Bezuidenhout, founder and head coach of the amateur academy Westville United FC, said disorganisation in amateur club soccer was one of the reasons why many potentially talented players stopped playing after school.
He said that besides white players, there were many talented Indian and coloured players in the 90s, but there had been a decrease in their numbers in recent years.
After graduation, many talented players would leave the game in search of a non-sports career.
But more money was being pumped into the sport and players were supported and protected and, as a result, the number of white players being groomed for professional soccer was picking up now.
"The PSL is looking to crack the market and look for white players to give another dimension to the game."
Bezuidenhout said former white soccer stars such as Tinkler and Tovey had provided a different element to the game.
"These players were generally bigger, stronger and taller, adding a difference to the team from the more skillful and quicker black players."
East Coast Radio DJ and Manchester United fan Dave Guselli, who has coached soccer at school and academy level, said there was great talent among young white players but that parents had a bad habit of not "pushing" their children.
"You cannot give up because you are white. People need to change their mentality and forget colour completely."
Guselli said he had encouraged his son Danny, and had supported him throughout his soccer career.
Danny will move to Sweden in January for six weeks to play for Enskoping, a first-division team.
Manchester-born Guselli, who played in the Manchester United academy at the age of 9, said players in Europe made it through merit and ability.
He said he would not have made it as far as he had done had it not been for the support of his parents.
"Soccer is not a black sport, and we all need to realise that."
Another young talent, Jason Ayling, was recently in the spotlight for being selected to try out for England's Coca-Cola Championship side, Sheffield United. Unfortunately he sustained a knee injury in his first training match and the 18-year-old from Amanzimtoti had to return home for an operation and rehabilitation for his knee. But he will return to Sheffield United in a year's time.
Ayling said he would work hard as his dream was to play in England. He said the experience of being in the Sheffield training academy had been "phenomenal".
"The level of soccer is amazing, from technique to fitness and dedication. You have to be special to get noticed."
Brookes, who helped Ayling through his club days at Stella, said he had recognised the talent in the player.
"He had the qualities of a European player. He had speed, strength and a defending mentality. I organised a trial for him at Sheffield United because going to Europe was the only way he was going to progress," Brookes said.
This article was originally published on page 12 of The Mercury on September 23, 2008
4 Days ago Anonymous wrote :
True, we need more white and colored players to strengthen Bafana. We were good when we had a good mixture of all races together and had proper strikers. Unfortunately Bafana's problem is not with the skill of the players but their conditioning and physical strength. Black players have always been skillful and very exciting to watch but they are not good finishers. I've watched the match between chiefs and man united at newlands and saw that our players are good enough to compete against these guys , but they looked like midgets and could not compete in the air and their physic was no match for these European players. Like they say in rugby a small player that is good is great to have , but a tall good player is even better.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&click_id=19&art_id=v n20080923055714209C149955
This article is a about white south african soccer players and were are they?
By Yusuf Moolla
While great pressure is put on rugby and cricket bosses to have more black people in their teams, professional soccer teams and academies in South Africa are struggling to hold on to or recruit young white players.
Since the Bafana Bafana glory days of the 1990s when white players such as Neil Tovey (who captained the team in 1996 when South Africa won the African Cup of Nations), Mark Fish (former Bafana Bafana defender) and Eric Tinkler (former Bafana Bafana midfielder) were among the core group which formed the heart and soul of the national team, South Africa has failed to produce similarly skilled white players at the highest levels.
What has happened to our white soccer stars and why are the professional bodies not attracting more white talent?
'We are all South Africans'
Mike Makaab, managing director of Prosport International's soccer division, has been involved with soccer for more than 30 years, as a player, coach and manager, and was South Africa's first licensed Fifa agent.
Makaab said there were several issues hampering the progress of potential white soccer stars, but chief among these was the sports systems in the traditionally white schools.
"There is a perception that there is no future in soccer and the majority of parents encourage their sons to pursue careers in cricket and rugby despite having talent in soccer."
While there were exceptions, such as Durban High School, which was making enormous strides in promoting soccer, generally not enough was being done to get rid of this perception, said Makaab.
He believed that there was a lot of soccer talent among young white males.
'It should not be about colour'
"Orlando Pirates has Michael Morton, for example, a fantastic young player who has come up through the development academy.
"Danny Guselli of Durban is another example of a white player making it in the sport, so there is no shortage of talent in the country."
Makaab, however, said he hated talking about colour in the sport.
"We are all South Africans. If our entire national side consists of black players, they are the best that the country has produced. It should not be about colour."
But he added that having white players in the national team made a difference.
"In 1996, when Bafana Bafana won the African Cup of Nations, the country was ranked 16th in the world. We had a fantastic blend of players. There was the strength of the white players and the flair of the black players."
Now, he said, not enough was being done to nurture talent among white players.
Johnny Brookes, Uefa and FA coach, who works for the Global Soccer Star academy and is also a coach for Durban's Stella Club, has helped many players to find opportunities in world soccer.
Born in Sheffield, UK, Brookes, who placed Lucas Radebe and Phil Masinga at Leeds United with his good friend Howard Wilkinson in the 90s, had also played for Sheffield United.
Brookes agreed with Makaab, saying that talent at schools was being diverted to other sporting codes.
"Many young players, as well as their parents, feel that they would not be welcomed into the sport."
Brookes also said the sport was too racially driven, with the focus on nurturing black talent only.
"Times were different during the 1990s. All cultures and races were drawn into the sport and there was no politics disrupting the flow of talent."
Brookes said another problem was that while there was talent among young white players, there were hardly any coaches in South Africa to focus on nurturing the talent.
"There are very few Uefa licensed coaches in South Africa. The country needs to bring up coaches from scratch and send them overseas for training. Our way of thinking in terms of coaching is isolated from the mainstream European way, and we need to work on bridging that gap."
Brookes said race should not be an issue at all and players should be professionally coached from the age of six.
"If the best coaching is not offered, you end up with a potentially talented player who is wasted," he said.
Steven Bezuidenhout, founder and head coach of the amateur academy Westville United FC, said disorganisation in amateur club soccer was one of the reasons why many potentially talented players stopped playing after school.
He said that besides white players, there were many talented Indian and coloured players in the 90s, but there had been a decrease in their numbers in recent years.
After graduation, many talented players would leave the game in search of a non-sports career.
But more money was being pumped into the sport and players were supported and protected and, as a result, the number of white players being groomed for professional soccer was picking up now.
"The PSL is looking to crack the market and look for white players to give another dimension to the game."
Bezuidenhout said former white soccer stars such as Tinkler and Tovey had provided a different element to the game.
"These players were generally bigger, stronger and taller, adding a difference to the team from the more skillful and quicker black players."
East Coast Radio DJ and Manchester United fan Dave Guselli, who has coached soccer at school and academy level, said there was great talent among young white players but that parents had a bad habit of not "pushing" their children.
"You cannot give up because you are white. People need to change their mentality and forget colour completely."
Guselli said he had encouraged his son Danny, and had supported him throughout his soccer career.
Danny will move to Sweden in January for six weeks to play for Enskoping, a first-division team.
Manchester-born Guselli, who played in the Manchester United academy at the age of 9, said players in Europe made it through merit and ability.
He said he would not have made it as far as he had done had it not been for the support of his parents.
"Soccer is not a black sport, and we all need to realise that."
Another young talent, Jason Ayling, was recently in the spotlight for being selected to try out for England's Coca-Cola Championship side, Sheffield United. Unfortunately he sustained a knee injury in his first training match and the 18-year-old from Amanzimtoti had to return home for an operation and rehabilitation for his knee. But he will return to Sheffield United in a year's time.
Ayling said he would work hard as his dream was to play in England. He said the experience of being in the Sheffield training academy had been "phenomenal".
"The level of soccer is amazing, from technique to fitness and dedication. You have to be special to get noticed."
Brookes, who helped Ayling through his club days at Stella, said he had recognised the talent in the player.
"He had the qualities of a European player. He had speed, strength and a defending mentality. I organised a trial for him at Sheffield United because going to Europe was the only way he was going to progress," Brookes said.
This article was originally published on page 12 of The Mercury on September 23, 2008
4 Days ago Anonymous wrote :
True, we need more white and colored players to strengthen Bafana. We were good when we had a good mixture of all races together and had proper strikers. Unfortunately Bafana's problem is not with the skill of the players but their conditioning and physical strength. Black players have always been skillful and very exciting to watch but they are not good finishers. I've watched the match between chiefs and man united at newlands and saw that our players are good enough to compete against these guys , but they looked like midgets and could not compete in the air and their physic was no match for these European players. Like they say in rugby a small player that is good is great to have , but a tall good player is even better.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&click_id=19&art_id=v n20080923055714209C149955
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